Pran

Pran Kumar Sharma

(15 August 1938 - 5 August 2014, India)

Pran Kumar Sharma's career began in 1960 with a comic strip and a front-page cartoon on the Delhi newspaper Milap. His strip 'Daabu' was unique, for at the time Indian newspapers only used American and European strips. In 1969, Pran started 'Chacha Chaudhary'. Used originally in the humor magazine Lodpot, Chacha Chaudhary and his sidekick Sabu went on to become the most popular comic personalities in India, and Pran has been called the Walt Disney of India. Other popular Pran titles were 'Shrimatiji', 'Raman and Bhagat Ji' and 'Billoo, Pinki and Uncle Sulemani'.

Pran's series appear in 45 newspapers of India and in the neighbouring countries. He has published over 400 comic books. His 'Chacha Chaudary' strip has been adapted for a TV serial which has surpassed 600 episodes (six days a week) and is still being telecast on India's premier channel, Sahara ONE. Pran was formally recognized with the 'Man of the Year 1995' award for popularizing comics in India. He has also traveled widely to many countries of the world to present lectures on the subject of comics.